Ken Borland

South African captain Keenan Horne is looking forward to his team putting aside the mixed fortunes they have had against top opposition and performing with more consistency against them in the FIH Hockey Pro League that gets underway in Potchefstroom from Tuesday.

The home side are missing a couple of key players as they take on the Netherlands, India, France and Germany in the South African leg of the league this month. The Dutch, the Indians and the Germans are all powerhouses of the game, although they have come to Potchefstroom with some new players as they begin preparations for the World Cup in a year’s time.

South Africa were 3-0 up against the Netherlands in last year’s Olympic Games, before losing 5-3, but they did pull off a famous 4-3 win over Germany, who were winners by the same scoreline in their previous meeting, which followed 6-2 and 6-1 wins in the two Tests before that.

India have beaten South Africa 5-1 and 5-0 in their last two engagements.

“Even if our primary aim is to grow the team, as a competitive player you always want to win,” Horne said on Monday. “We don’t always get the chance to play against teams in the top-eight and it’s usually in tough tournament conditions.

“So it is always great to get one of their scalps and we know we are able to do it. But we really need to build our consistency, what we really want is to be able to compete in every single game,” Horne said.

While South Africa will have home-ground advantage – Potchefstroom bringing heat and high-altitude into the equation – Horne said their opponents have shown the ability to adapt to different conditions.

“We’re coming up against really top teams who tour all around the world. So they play in all sorts of conditions and they are used to adjusting.

“But the altitude and heat will not be as difficult for us, so if it is an advantage we will take whatever we can get,” Horne said.

South Africa have certainly shown the ability to score goals – notching 11 in their three matches against Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands at the Olympics – but coach Garreth Ewing said they have to shore up their defence in the Pro League. Especially since they have a tough opening fixture against the Dutch at 8pm on Tuesday.

“The Netherlands are very skilful and gifted all around the field and it’s going to be a challenge for our defence. That’s our first focus, trying to get that right,” Ewing said.

Coach Sean Everitt was at pains on Thursday not to criticise his team’s game-management after they let slip a handy lead in their previous game against the Stormers, but the Sharks will go into Saturday’s United Rugby Championship rematch in Cape Town with someone a bit more ‘adult’ pulling the strings at flyhalf in Tito Bonilla.

The 32-year-old Bonilla, who has played four Tests for Argentina and was the Jaguares first-choice flyhalf when they reached the Super Rugby final in 2019, replaces 22-year-old Boeta Chamberlain at pivot as the Sharks look to go one better than their 22-22 draw with the Stormers last weekend, after leading 19-3 with half-an-hour to go in Durban.

Bonilla has also played for high-profile clubs in Racing 92 and Leicester Tigers.

“Tito has been on the bench for a number of games and hasn’t got the time for an extended run,” Everitt said after announcing his team. “He hasn’t really got the time he would have wanted on the field.

“He’s an international and will bring calm and composure. He likes to direct things on the field, he can guide the team around really well.

“Our draw did not have too much to do with game-management, we played in the right areas but our accuracy and discipline let us down. It’s always tough if you’re giving away yellow cards.

“We knew if we gave the Stormers back three space to run at us, then we would be in trouble,” Everitt said.

The Sharks squad are certainly treated like adults in a player-driven environment, and Everitt expects those discipline issues to be sorted come Saturday.

“The game of rugby starts with discipline and you can’t win if you concede four yellow cards and two penalty tries. They were individual things, we’ve certainly spoken about it and addressed it.

“We will be better on Saturday. Our discipline has actually been very good in the Currie Cup and URC, we are below average in conceding penalties. Against the Stormers we conceded 14 penalties to their 16.

“So it’s not a chronic problem for us and it’s not due to our relaxed approach. The players do work extremely hard and Bongi Mbonambi drives the discipline side. The coaches set the rules and standards,” Everitt said.

There is also a change at scrumhalf for Saturday, with Jaden Hendrikse starting in place of Grant Williams. But the livewire Williams has certainly not been thrown to the dogs, Everitt saying he played really well last weekend and he foresees his No.9s rotating through the season.

Inside centre Ben Tapuai is currently troubled by a knee injury and captain Lukhanyo Am will shift to No.12, where he was man of the match against the Bulls in December, with Jeremy Ward coming in at outside centre.

Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Jeremy Ward, Lukhanyo Am (c), Makazole Mapimpi, Tito Bonilla, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi, Jeandre Labuschagne, Siya Kolisi, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit (v/c), Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Gerbrandt Grobler, Henco Venter, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain, Werner Kok.

Dean Elgar was philosophical about the telling blow his team has suffered with the withdrawal of fast bowler Anrich Nortje from the series against India, but the Proteas captain was more upset when he told South Africa’s administrators that they have not backed the squad, and especially the coaches and management, enough.

As has become the norm, the Proteas go into a vital series with off-field clouds hanging over their heads. The most threatening of those is the news this week that coach Mark Boucher and director of cricket Graeme Smith are to be subjected to a formal enquiry by the CSA board based on the “tentative” and “untested” findings of the Social Justice and Nation-Building Report.

On the field, they will be without one of their key enforcers, Nortje needing to see specialists to sort out a persistent hip injury. The 28-year-old has been South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in Tests this year with 25 in five matches at an average of just 20.76.

“It’s not too tough for us, as a team we’ve got used to bad news being around us the last one-and-a-half years,” Elgar said on Tuesday. “We just adapt to it, even though they are not ideal headlines.

“What happens off the field is irrelevant now, we have to try and implement a game-plan and trust it. We’ve been through such crappy times, but we’ve formulated such a bond that works for us as player group.

“There have been so many different administrators, but I feel that we have not received enough backing, especially in terms of our coaches and management. We need to show them some love.

“As players, we would like to say that we back them, we know the work they put in that is not seen by the public. It’s not nice to see them being lambasted by articles in the media,” Elgar said.

Another Proteas squad member who is encountering some mixed media treatment is returning fast bowler Duanne Olivier, and Elgar did his best to bolster the former Kolpak’s image. Nortje’s injury means the 29-year-old is now surely almost certain to play his first Test since February 2019.

“The team has responded very well to Duanne coming back, he’s played with quite a few of the guys before and he has half-a-dozen Central Gauteng Lions team-mates here as well,” Elgar said.

“I want us to have the best opportunity of winning matches and series and I’m sure there’s 100% backing for that in the changeroom. Which means sometimes you have to make tough calls.

“But I’m very pleased and excited to have him back, I know what he can do on the field and there are no bad feelings. I see a different energy and enthusiasm in him.

“He’s a different cricketer now and he brings a lot of knowledge and experience back into the team, which is what we need. He’s a matchwinner, I’m very aware of that and that’s what I want to have,” Elgar said.

Bulls coach Jake White said before their United Rugby Championship match against the Sharks in Durban that he would like his team to move towards the Northern Hemisphere approach of using the set-pieces as more of an attacking platform than as an opportunity to get penalties.

The Sharks clearly did not get the memo though as they thoroughly dominated the Bulls in the scrums, earning eight penalties as well as forcing referee Jaco Peyper to yellow card retreaded tighthead Lizo Gqoboka, and also putting the visitors under pressure in the lineouts. That dominance up front set in motion a commanding display as they swept the Currie Cup champions aside 30-16.

“The set-pieces are always important, especially with the conditions we have in Durban this time of year,” Sharks coach Sean Everitt said. “The set-pieces really functioned well and we got a maul try.

“So it’s been a good turnaround in that department. The scrum is one of three things that have to be in place for you to win, the others being territory and defence.

“We won the territory battle, although we were not as clinical as I would have liked in the first half. Defensively we stopped the Bulls’ momentum, we won the gain-line.

“At the breakdowns we were doing more cleaning next to the ball and not over it, but we got better at it, and in the second half we were able to put the opposition under pressure there,” Everitt said.

White said the Bulls are set to boost their front-row stocks, especially at tighthead prop, given the departure of Trevor Nyakane to Racing 92 in France, and the current unavailability of Jacques van Rooyen and Mornay Smith. The inexperienced Robert Hunt started in the number three jersey and was replaced by Gqoboka, who has not played on that side of the scrum since the start of his career.

“From a personnel point of view, we obviously need to get more experienced tighthead props because there are things in the scrum we have to get right,” White said.

“On our ball, I thought we played quite cleverly, but there was no stopping the Sharks on their ball and that put us under pressure.”

Everitt also gave a big thumbs up to his returning Springboks, who were very much the heartbeat of the side, especially Thomas du Toit and Bongi Mbonambi up front, and Lukhanyo Am at inside centre.

“Having the Boks back made a huge difference and they came through really well. It’s their attitude that was really pleasing.

“I’ve been at the Sharks for a long time and sometimes you worry about the attitude of the Springboks when they come back, but they came back very well prepared and it was a smooth transition.

“Lukhanyo played yet another 80 minutes and was man of the match, while Bongi fitted in seamlessly and did really well today. He was strong defensively and the set-pieces went really well,” Everitt said.